


Close to Perfection

by ZoeyWinterRose



Series: Out With The Old, In With The New [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Butcher gang are kids too, Dad Henry, Fluff, Gen, Good Boy Boris (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Hurt/Comfort, Norman is not, Sammy Lawrence Lives, Sammy is fixed, Susie is also fixed, alice and henry bond, almost everyone woops, everyone was saved, good ending, henry is dad to all, tom and allison could be together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 09:43:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16762648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeyWinterRose/pseuds/ZoeyWinterRose
Summary: Henry comes home to find his kids playing in the snow but gets worried when Alice isn't with them. He looks for her and finds her, crying in the bathroom.





	Close to Perfection

**Author's Note:**

> This is like a year after the first story and Henry decided to go back and save everyone else in between so that's why their suddenly there

Snow lightly blew through the air, dancing around with enchantment. It was a gentle snowfall, one that children could be found playing in. Everywhere in the countryside was blanketed with it. The stretch of road was barren aside from a red truck. It was beaten up, possibly had seen a few wrecks but it was still driving well. The driver himself had a smile stretched across his face, every once in a while stealing a glance at the powdery snow on the empty fields. Soft classical music was playing on his radio. It was one of the most beautiful days he’d seen since escaping the studio a year ago. There were pretty days, sure, when he and his new family would sit in their shared yard, watching the clouds or playing around. Today, however, he knew exactly what his kids were doing. They had waited all week for the snow to play in. It seemed they got their wish. 

Pulling into the dirt road that led to his home concealed by trees, he took in the sight of the snow hanging from pine trees both old and young. Even icicles were forming from their spindly pines. When his home was in sight, he could see snowballs flying from behind it and his smile widened. Parking his car away from trees so it wouldn’t be too snow-covered his next trip to town, he joined his family. 

Turning the corner of his home and entering his backyard, he saw quite a sight. Boris was relaxing under a tree on the hammock Henry set up for the wolf, watching everyone else play around. Bendy’s tiny form darted from tree to tree taking cover as he was being double teamed by Sammy and Norman. The little devil let out a whistling laugh every time he popped out and threw a snowball. Both toons were wrapped head to toe in scarves, coats, and beanies. Sammy was too. He smiled and laughed as he played around with Bendy, his tall, thin form giving him an advantage. His face was bright red, shiny against his pale skin. His hair was concealed under a beanie but it poked out in odd arrays. Ink blotches were freckled across his skin but it was mostly gone. Norman was hunched behind Sammy, his projector head giving him a height boost. He seemed to be using the musician as cover as he made their shared snowballs, the weight of his projector and the thickness of the bundled clothes seemed to be making him struggle a bit with bending over. 

Edgar was eager to help, holding up armfuls of snow to him with a smile and a chatter of teeth. The little toon’s four arms were full of snow yet covered in warm clothing, the chattering of the teeth on his head muffled by his own knit-cap. Barley and Charlie were sitting around a firepit Henry had made when he build their homes. Barley’s head was attached to his body by a string, though he had to keep readjusting so it didn’t fall. Charlie’s mouth was forming a small smile, his wooden leg thumping against the bench they were sitting on. They seemed perfectly content where they were, playing cards with each other. Tom was on the porch of his and Allison’s small home, a few steps from Henry’s own back door. He was leaning against the banister, a mug in his hands. His ears kept perking with every whistling and static laugh but seemed otherwise happy. Opposite of him was where Susie sat on her, Sammy, and Norman’s porch. She was on her porch swing, wrapped in a beige sweater. Her hair was blonde at the top and faded to black and got a bit thicker at the ends, ink permanently stuck there. Her skin was like porcelain, ink streaks across her left cheek and lips stuck black. A black circle encompassed her brown left eye and a broken halo jutted out her head, unable to have been removed. Despite her hatred in the past, she seemed happy now. 

Allison was the first to see Henry, making her way over. She seemed to glow, her hair actually down and tucked into her trench coat. It wasn’t fancy, but it was enough to keep her warm. A smile was plastered on her face, her eyes lit up with joy. They gave each other a short yet loving hug and turned to watch everyone else. 

“Tom likes the snow,” Allison said softly, looking at the wolf. “He just doesn’t like it touching his feet.”   
“How are things going with Susie?” 

The question made Allison’s smile waver but it didn’t quite fall. He knew things were rough between them, Susie blaming Allison for all her problems from the moment they left the studio. After a few months of coaxing, however, it seemed she realized Allison wasn’t even the real person, just an ink copy made like Alice. Eventually, the ex-voice actress stopped screaming every time the inky human approached. 

“It’s getting better. She called me by my name today.” Allison’s voice was hopeful. Henry couldn’t help but smile. 

Then he noticed something odd. Alice herself wasn’t outside with everyone else. Normally she would be playing with Bendy or laying next to Boris. She was nowhere, though. 

“Where’s Alice?” Henry turned to his companion. Allison’s smile finally dropped, looking to the side almost with guilt. 

“Remember when you took her out yesterday and lost her for a while?”   
“Yeah?” Henry did remember, too well. It sent him into a panic that would have given him a heart attack had he not been made of ink. He liked to take them to town occasionally but his truck could only fit himself and one other person, along with their groceries. Alice got distracted by something and wandered off. Eventually, he found her on the floor in the makeup section, crying softly. She said she was just afraid of being alone but now Henry was starting to feel like there was more to it.

“She hasn’t come out since. She won’t talk to anyone, just stays locked up in the bathroom.” Allison finished, finally looking up at him. “She told us not to tell you, to pretend she was acting normal but she’s never done this, Henry. We’re afraid for her.”   
“I’ll take care of her, Al. I promise.” Henry gave his friend a small, encouraging smile. Allison smiled back and went to her porch, planting herself next to Tom’s bare feet and leaning against his legs. He put a hand on her head, looking over at Henry. They shared a silent nod and the human went into his own home to find his angel. Going into the house, nothing seemed to be off. The laundry room was nice and neat. An older electric washer with three small stacks of clothes on top stood opposite of him with a half-full laundry basket of mostly Henry’s clothes next to it. He walked through the kitchen, still messy from breakfast, and into the hallway, which was conjoined by both the kitchen/dining room and living room. Alice’s room was the last on the right, a halo with wings painted on the door. Alice, Boris, and Bendy’s bathroom was the first room on the right. Henry gave it a gentle rap. 

“Alice?” He heard her gasp break, a clear sign she was crying. “Are you okay?”   
“Y-yes! I’m fine, perfectly fine!” He could see her shadow darting around underneath the door but it never opened.   
“Can I come in?”   
“N-no!” Her voice raised and squeaked. She was hiding something. “Please don’t, Henry…”   
“Alice, I need you to open the door. I have a key to every room in the house so there’s no point in trying.” 

There was a gentle thump. She must have been sitting on the sink, he thought. The door slowly opened to reveal the angel, head down and looking away. Her body was hunched like she had been caught doing something bad. She kept him from seeing her face. Upon further inspection, he saw a variety of makeup items on the sink. It was odd. He didn’t remember ever buying any makeup for the girls. How did Alice get them?

“Alice,” He spoke softly. She still flinched at hearing her name. “Alice, sweetie, talk to me. What’s going on?”   
Her shoulders shook. Black, inky tears hit the floor.   
“I promise I won’t be mad.” He knelt beside her but didn’t get too close. “I promise we’ll get through this. You just have to tell me what’s wrong.” 

Alice whimpered and nodded, trying not to cry anymore. She slowly looked up and what Henry saw completely shocked him. Bright blue and pink covered her eyelids in an odd, mismatched way, squiggly black lines had come dangerously close to her pie-cut eyes, mascara marks were all around her single lashes, and bright red lipstick covered not only her lips but the area around them in an attempt to make them look larger and fuller. 

“Oh, Alice…” Henry wanted to say more but the angle burst into tears and covered her face. With no hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, smoothing her hair out gently. Tiny arms wrapped around his neck as she sobbed. They stayed like that for a long time before the angel finally calmed down. Stepping back, she saw she’d gotten the colors on his work shirt and immediately started trying to get it off. 

“I-I’m so s-sorry, Henry…” She muttered softly, whimpering slightly as she tried not to cry again. He didn’t even care about his shirt, lifting the angel onto the sink and taking the wet rag she was using. With the care any father would use, he wiped makeup off her face.

“Why did you even do this, Alice?” He questioned, sounding as soft as ever. The lack of anger in his voice visibly relaxed the angel. 

“I-I...I got lost… I couldn’t find you… Those girls kept telling me I-I wasn’t… w-wasn’t pretty, like them… I-I just w-wanted to be pretty too…” Alice whimpered again, putting her hands on Henry’s wrists as he carefully got the makeup off. Nothing else was said, aside from the angel’s apologies being repeatedly whispered under her breath. Once she was all cleaned up, he wrapped his arms around her, rocking her from side to side. 

“Alice, you are beautiful. You don’t need to wear all those colors to be that way, either. You’re beautiful because you’re you.” He rested his head on hers and she curled into his chest, a broken, tearful giggle muffled by his shirt. He kissed the top of her head and smiled, happy he was able to make her feel better. 

“Now,” he pulled away and looked down at her, a small smile on her lips. “How about we get some hot chocolate for everyone and go outside in the snow?” 

“That sounds nice. Thank you, Henry.”

20 minutes, a bundled angel, and two trays of steaming mugs later, they were outside handing out drinks to everyone aside from Norman though he didn’t mind. They all sat around the fire, laughing and talking, Alice sandwiched between Henry and Boris, who had Bendy in his lap. She looked around at her make-shift family and smiled brightly for the first time since the day before. Henry was poking fun of Susie, who was begrudgingly drinking her hot chocolate with a smile. Tom’s eyes were closed, his mechanical arm draped around the back of the bench as Allison laid in his lap. Norman and Sammy were next to Susie, attempting to show the butcher gang how to roast marshmallows. They kept burning them but Edgar ate them all up happily. Bendy and Boris were talking and kept looking over at the angel and asking her opinion.

They weren’t perfect, none of them were. They were bruised, scarred, inky wounds that would never heal covered them both mentally and physically. At that moment, Alice really realized it didn’t matter. They all loved her and she loved them. That was what mattered most.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea stuck in my head for weeks, what do you think?


End file.
